1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to systems for concentrating energy and, more particularly, to systems for concentrating electromagnetic energy.
The present invention also relates to systems and methods for concentrating energy for the purpose of destroying tumors and other undesirable growths.
2. Description of the Related Art
Prior art systems which project energy into the body to destroy tumors, etc. typically suffer from the inability to precisely focus the energy at high concentrations inside the body and to destroy the target without injury to the surrounding tissue and skin.
RF energy offers the potential advantage of high power, but it is difficult to focus RF energy, and especially difficult to focus such energy without absorption in surrounding media. More specifically, the prior art of focusing RF energy to a point/point volume from a source has been a challenge because of the divergent nature of the radiation pattern and frequency wavelength. In so-called non-invasive surgery applications, RF radiation may be directed by induction into a human body and allowed to cover a larger volume than the tumor or other target, thus affecting healthy tissue and organs. In some cases the healthy tissue is heated severely and/or experiences severe side effects. It is thought to be as the result of these difficulties that RF systems have not been used successfully for applications such as non-invasive surgery.